


Holiday

by tokyoblackbird



Series: Albatross [6]
Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:38:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2719028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyoblackbird/pseuds/tokyoblackbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which rebels, baby. One-shot. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holiday

******Holiday**

**[2000 C.E.]**

* * *

_I'm gonna rescue you_

_so you can rescue me too_

\- Mr. Little Jeans, "Rescue Song"

* * *

Fai had four hours of detention by third period. It was only the second day of school. His usual chipper demeanor had faded. He spent fourth period sitting on the windowsill in the science hallway stairwell, watching the rain turn the asphalt parking lot below into a churning black lake. No one used the science hallway stairs. Fai fell into a daze.

He imagined himself opening the window and falling out into the rain.

Fifth period, he was in the rain, nursing a Styrofoam carton from the food truck. He wandered into English Literature and took a seat in the back, dripping wet and reeking of cheese fries.

A student was handing out copies of  _Lolita._  Mr. Vernon paid no attention to Fai as he paced around the projector screen, his hands behind his back. He wore a faux tuxedo t-shirt under a tweed blazer with leather elbow patches. His mustache was carefully curved. Most students loved him.

"Class," Mr. Vernon said. "Let's get into the mood for our first book." He rubbed his hands together. "Take a look at this video. It's likely you've already heard this story on the news."

He turned on the projector.

"Here we have a thirty-year-old man," he said. "Perfectly normal, quite attractive." The class tittered. "He's dating a grandmother in her nineties." Dramatic pause. "He says the sex is great."

A collective "ewww." Mr. Vernon grinned.

"Let's play nice," Fai said, all smiles and bristling offense. "It's not nice to mock other people's love." The class fell silent.

Mr. Vernon picked up a yardstick where it was leaning against the desk. He walked leisurely down the aisle toward Fai. "Raise your hand, Mr. Fluorite."

Fai raised it and kept talking, his hand in the air. "Isn't it mean turning this man's life into a freak show? Perhaps you can focus on teaching and leave horseshit to the tabloids." He laughed lightly. "Just my opinion."

The door swung open. Kurogane was shirtless and had a bloody nose, a black eye. His sneakers tracked mud as he ambled to the empty seat on the far side of the room. His jeans were soaked. At six foot two, it was hard for him to be inconspicuous, so he didn't try.

Mr. Vernon rounded on him. "Glad you decided to show up to class. Hopefully you'll be more timely to detention, Mr. Hangenmaru. And dressed appropriately."

"But--we've all got nipples," Fai cut in. 

"You can stare at Mr. Hangenmaru's nipples," Mr. Vernon said crisply, "all day in detention, Mr. Fluorite. Since you seem to like them so much."

Not a single student dared to laugh.

Kurogane turned and walked out.

Fai jumped to his feet. "Woohoo nipples." He flashed his neon bright smile. 

And slammed the door on his way out. 

Kurogane and Fai walked down the deserted hallway in amicable silence. Fai was slouched a little sadly; Kurogane seemed careless as usual. Fai realized why he had been so irritated all day, and especially so irritated in class, when he reached over and gave Kurogane's hand a quick squeeze. They went out the emergency exit, triggering the door alarm.

"Fuck," Fai said suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Forgot my bag."

"Dumbass."

* * *

Kurogane's car was parked under the oak tree. It was a Volvo 760 Turbo Wagon; it looked like a hearse and had been battered and repainted so many times, no one could tell what color it used to be. Kurogane peeled a couple fallen leaves off the windshield, and unlocked the door. They got in.

"Did you get enough?" Fai asked.

"For the week, yeah. $400."

"Ran a bit late though didn't it?" Fai poked Kurogane's arm. "What were you thinking walking into Vernon's looking like that? Sillyhead."

"Heard you from the hall. Wanted to join the fun."

Kurogane pulled out into the highway.

"Where we going?" asked Fai.

Kurogane rested his wrists on the steering wheel and shot Fai a long, hard look. "Why don't we get a place. Spend the night." He smiled. It looked strange on his battered face.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Fai dropped a hand on Kurogane's thigh, his fingers dancing slowly up. "Because I've been seduced." He looked meaningfully toward the back seat.

"It's full."

It was true. There were two dirty duffel bags and Kurogane's backpack, as well as an assortment of odds and ends: a couple pans, a bag of rice, a lamp, a broom.

"Dirk asked me to join today," Kurogane said to Fai's puzzled look.

"So...you're gonna get be rich...and you're dropping your old stuff at the dump?"

Kurogane took a turn at Exit 95, slowing patiently at the roundabout. To their left was the Wynn River, slate gray and rippling with rain. A pair of signs: "Rest Area 2 miles," "Holiday Inn." Canada geese honked overhead, sailing in V-formation.

They drove in silence. Fai bit his lips, holding back a question.

Kurogane pulled into the motel parking lot. He got out of the car.

"I told Dirk, 'no,'" he called over his shoulder. He walked off to the reception area.

"You didn't!" Fai said, a second late.

He swore all the way up the stairs and down the dimly lit hallway. He hit Kurogane's back with his fists as Kurogane unlocked the door. "I hate you. You are the worst. I hate you. With all my hate." But he didn't sound angry, just panicked.

Kurogane was silent. He grabbed Fai's shoulders and steered him to the bed. Then he took off his shoes and went into the bathroom, locked the door. The sound of running water.

Fai hugged a pillow to his chest, waiting. He snapped upright when he heard the lock click and he threw the pillow at Kurogane with devastating accuracy, smacking him in the face, hard enough to make him stagger. "What are you afraid of," Fai raged. "You can wipe the floor with any of them. In fact, you already _have_. They're just a bunch of high school kids."

"'Join or leave,' that's what Dirk said."

"When did you become a coward?" 

Kurogane did not have to answer.

Kurogane had no family. Fai knew that. Kurogane had almost no one to protect.

Kurogane sat on the bed near Fai. He leaned toward him. Fai turned his head away. Kurogane kissed his neck. Fai punched him in the chest.

"May I come with you," Fai said. "Pretty please."

Kurogane kissed Fai's jaw, threaded his fingers through his hair. The callouses on his hands caught on the the strands of Fai's fair hair.

"I  _will_  come with you."

Kurogane tilted Fai's jaw and kissed his mouth. Fai closed his eyes and sucked on Kurogane's bottom lip. He tasted blood. Kurogane gathered Fai in his arms and pulled him down on top of him.

"You can't do that to your parents."

"I can do whatever I want." Fai pulled off his shirt, balled it up, and threw it across the room with all his rage. "I love you baby, but don't tell me what I can't do."

They settled into each other's arms. Fai shivered. He liked the feeling of Kurogane's body under his hands, under his body. He liked how Kurogane's angel bones fit in his hands and how each breath Kurogane took made his own body move.

"I'm leaving in the morning." Kurogane's expression was unreadable.

"Mother warned me about boys like you."

"Thinking about going to the city."

"Fuck you too," said Fai.

"Alright." Kurogane slipped a hand down Fai's jeans, under his boxers. His thumb rubbed Fai's hip bone. Fai's closed his eyes.

Kurogane had the audacity to grin.

* * *

It was 2:42 AM. Fai lay in bed, his eyelids heavy. Sweat had dried on his body, and he lay there, afraid of closing his eyes. Kurogane lay snoring beside him. Fai rubbed his nose against the stubble on Kurogane's lip. He ran a finger along Kurogane's eyebrow.

As long as he didn't fall asleep...

At 5:03, Kurogane awoke to Fai's blue-eyed stare, now kind of distant.

"Hey," he said. "Well." He kissed him and though his mouth tasted morning sour, Fai didn't mind. He hummed with satisfaction.

"Take me with you."

"Your parents will kill me."

"Take me with you."

"A manhunt. It'll be all over the news. Mr. Vernon will have something to show the class, alright."

"I'll call them. I wanted to call them anyway, but I was scared you'd leave. Take me with you."

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "The goal is to  _not_  get murdered."

"Take me with you."

"A rich kid like you, even half as smart," he said, "could get into college and get a good job. Find a nice guy. Fai, what do you want to do with your life? Didn't you want to be a doctor? Didn't you want to write books?"

"I'm _ti-i-ired_. Don't argue with me."

"You have to think things through." Kurogane sat up and put his hands on Fai's shoulders. "You can't make a person the most important thing in your life. You have to live your own life. People go, sometimes, you know. Even if they don't want to."

Fai covered his ears and shook his head. "Please, please, please, please, please, please."

Kurogane began to dress. Fai hurriedly rolled out of bed and hunted for his own clothes.

There was a sharp rap on the door and both of them froze.

"Who is it?" said Kurogane.

"Police. Open up."

"Fuck." Fai immediately ran to the window, but it opened on a hinge, two inches widest. He ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

Kurogane opened the front door a crack.

The cop was a petite lady with a warm smile and glossy black hair pulled back in a bun. "We're looking for a runaway," she said. "Male, blonde, blue-eyed, five ten, sixteen years old. Have you seen him?" She handed him a flyer. Kurogane recognized the photo; it was taken in the park across the street from Fai's house last summer. A few minutes after, Fai had shoved him into the sprinkler. "We believe he was last seen with you," said the cop.

"I know him."

"The parents are not pressing charges," the cop said carefully. "They just want him home. If he's with you, just turn him over and we'll get him back home safe and sound. You can be on your way."

Kurogane didn't know what to say.

In the bathroom, Fai sat, ear pressed to the door, hand over his mouth, heart hammering.

The officer's eyes slipped down the scattered marks on Kurogane's chest. "Anyone with you?"

"Just taking a pit stop before I move to the city. Found a job."

"May I take a look around?"

Fai made a small, involuntary sound. Like a kicked dog.

"No," Kurogane said quickly.

"No?"

"He's not with me. After we left class, he ran off. I don't know where he went. I thought he went home."

They stared each other down.

"Do you know where he might be?"

"No. He's pretty temperamental."

"Any information at all..."

"I really hope he turns up safe," Kurogane said. "The crazy asshole."

"I hope so too," said the officer. "He does have a history of running away."

Kurogane nodded.

She gestured at his black eye. "That's quite a shiner you got there."

"Fell."

"Uh-huh." She shook her head, looked curiously at the bathroom door. "Well sorry for disturbing you at this hour. Take care of yourself."

* * *

Fai finally fell asleep in the car, his pinky locked with Kurogane's pinky. The miles slipped soundlessly away beneath them.

 _A history of running away,_  Kurogane thought.

"Well," he said.


End file.
